PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team won its third-straight Sun Belt Championship title after a 4-1 victory over Georgia State Sunday afternoon at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.

The competition went down to the wire in doubles action to decide the first point of the match, and it was the Jaguars who came away with the clutch finish to grab the crucial 1-0 advantage. GSU's Mihai Marinescu and Vazha Shubladze pushed to a 6-3 win over Louis Delcour and Leon Pet'ko on court three, but the Jags came back when Julien Evrard and Sébastien Collard managed a 6-4 win on court two over Panthers Andrei Duarte and Roberts Grinvalds. USA's power team on court one did what they do best, securing yet another win as a pair to get the Jags some early momentum. The doubles point offered a taste of what was to come against the Panthers.

Georgia State got on the board in singles as Kevin Huynh defeated Martin Bugaj 6-0, 6-3 on court six, but that was as far as the Panthers would get. Collard ripped through a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Duarte on court four to extend USA's lead to 2-1. After dropping the second set, Evrard earned the Jags' next point with his 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 victory over Shubladze on court one. Delcour then pounced on his opportunity and rattled off a 7-5, 6-4 decision that brought his teammates pouring onto his court five in celebration of the Jaguars' third Sun Belt Championship victory.

SOUTH ALABAMA 4, GEORGIA STATE 1
Date: 4/25
Place: Peachtree City Tennis Center (Peachtree City, Ga.)
Records: USA (12-7), GSU (15-8)  

DOUBLES
1. #49 Loïc Cloes / Clément Marzol (USA) def. #55 Harvey Maughan / Kevin Huynh (GSU) 7-5
2. Julien Evrard / Sébastien Collard (USA) #86 Andrei Duarte / Roberts Grinvalds (GSU)  6-4
3. Mihai Marinescu / Vazha Shubladze (GSU) def. Louis Delcour / Leon Pet'ko (USA) 6-3
Order of Finish: (3,2,1)

SINGLES
1. #89 Evrard (USA) def. Shubladze (GSU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-2
2. #91 Marzol (USA) vs. Maughan (GSU) 2-6, 6-3, 1-1, unfinished
3. Cloes (USA) vs. Grinvalds (GSU) 6-3, 6-6, unfinished
4. Collard (USA) def. Duarte (GSU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Delcour (USA) def. Marinescu (GSU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Huynh (GSU) def. Martin Bugaj (USA) 6-0, 6-3
Order of Finish: (6,4,1,5)

NOTES
- Evrard and Collard improved their overall doubles record to 10-9 as a pair.
- Cloes and Marzol posted their third consecutive doubles win after clinching the doubles point for the Jags.
- Collard extended his singles winning streak to five matches this season, with his victory coming in straight sets.
- Evrard earned his fourth consecutive singles victory after forcing his opponent into three sets.
- Delcour has won five out of seven matches at the No. 5 singles position this season.
- The Jaguars are tied 6-6 in the all-time series against the Panthers and have beat GSU three times in the last three Sun Belt Championships.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama will move on to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year. The NCAA tournament selection show will be held one week from Monday on May 3, on ncaa.com.

THEY SAID IT 
Head Coach Nick Brochu
- On the win and the season: "It's a great feeling since we had a tough year with the schedule constantly changing. During the season, there was also the worry of how many players will I have on the roster the next week if someone were to test positive. It was a crazy year, but I think it helped us that we were able to play a fall season. We practiced hard, and it helped us build our team spirit. Overall, we're going to look back on today and realize that it was hard, and it's going to be even sweeter at the end."

- On doubles: "We played awesome doubles, and we knew that not only was it a big point, it was also a big mental point because during the regular season, they won the doubles point, and they beat us 4-3. They had two ranked teams, so doubles was one of their strengths, and we took that away right off the back. That was our first goal, and it was great. In the end, it got tight, but we worked a lot on relaxing and executing, and it worked out great for us. Yesterday, we had a heartbreaker at No. 2, and today they responded well and gave us the first win. I am very proud of them for leaving the past in the past and playing in the present."

- On singles: "We just played like we were supposed to play. We didn't have to do anything fancy or overplay. We had to stay focused and win one game at a time. We got nervous at the end and some courts we couldn't close. We had many players serving for the match point. We got broken, and then we got back into it, but that's the beauty of tennis. It's never over until you win the last point. They went through a lot of emotions while they were playing. In the end, we just executed what we were supposed to do, and we earned it today.'

- On Cloes and Marzol: "This Championship is a great feeling. We have four seniors on the team, but we have two that have been with us for four years, and winning three out of four championships is a great accomplishment. Today, they finished on top, and they're very proud, and so am I. They brought so much to the program, and they paved the way for the new players. As a coach, it's so good to have your freshmen win a Championship because once they've experienced that, they'll be hungry for it for the next three years, and that's an awesome feeling."


For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Baseline Club, the tennis-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Baseline Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's and women's tennis programs. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/baselineclub